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Among the agricultural practices promoted by the Common Agricultural Policy to increase soil functions, the use of cover crops is a recommended tool to improve the sustainability of Mediterranean woody crops such as olive orchards. However, there is a broad range of cover crop typologies in relation to its implementation, control and species composition. In that sense, the influence of different plant species on soil quality indicators in olive orchards remains unknown yet. This study describes the effects of four treatments based on the implementation of different ground covers (CC-GRA: sown cover crop with gramineous, CC-MIX: sown cover crop with a mixture of species and CC-NAT: cover crop with spontaneous vegetation) and conventional tillage (TILL) on soil erosion, soil physicochemical and biological properties after 8 years of cover crop establishment. Our results demonstrated that the presence of a temporary cover crop (CC), compared to a soil under tillage (TILL), can reduce soil losses and maintain good soil physicochemical properties and modify greatly the structure and diversity of soil bacterial communities and its functioning. The presence of a homogeneous CC of gramineous (Lolium rigidum or Lolilum multiflorum) (CC-GR) for 8 years increased the functional properties of the soil as compared to TILL; although the most relevant change was a modification on the bacterial community composition that was clearly different from the rest of treatments. On the other hand, the use of a mixture of plant species (CC-MIX) as a CC for only two years although did not modify greatly the structure and diversity of soil bacterial communities compared to the TILL soil, induced significant changes on the functional properties of the soil and reverted those properties to a level similar to that of an undisturbed soil that had maintained a natural cover of spontaneous vegetation for decades (CC-NAT).
Luis Arias-Giraldo; Gema Guzmán; Miguel Montes-Borrego; David Gramaje; José Gómez; Blanca Landa. Going Beyond Soil Conservation with the Use of Cover Crops in Mediterranean Sloping Olive Orchards. Agronomy 2021, 11, 1387 .
AMA StyleLuis Arias-Giraldo, Gema Guzmán, Miguel Montes-Borrego, David Gramaje, José Gómez, Blanca Landa. Going Beyond Soil Conservation with the Use of Cover Crops in Mediterranean Sloping Olive Orchards. Agronomy. 2021; 11 (7):1387.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLuis Arias-Giraldo; Gema Guzmán; Miguel Montes-Borrego; David Gramaje; José Gómez; Blanca Landa. 2021. "Going Beyond Soil Conservation with the Use of Cover Crops in Mediterranean Sloping Olive Orchards." Agronomy 11, no. 7: 1387.
Soil erosion plays an important role in C cycling at farm scale, especially in bare soil areas. In Mediterranean woody crops, temporary cover crops (CC) effectively reduce soil erosion and increase total and protected soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions. However, the effects of CC in olive groves on the preferential loss of organic carbon (Corg) fractions remains poorly understood. To address this issue, in four plots with seeded CC and two tilled plots (CT) in a Spanish olive grove, the unprotected and protected Corg fractions were measured in soil and sediments over the course of a hydrological year. The sediment/soil C enrichment ratios (ERSOC) were calculated, and results analysed considering the rainfall regimes of the site: dry (DS), heavy-rainy (HRS) and rainy (RS). Total, unprotected and protected Corg contents in the top 5 cm soil of CC plots were 46 %, 88.4 % and 28.5 %, respectively, higher than those of CT. 79.7 % and 70.3 % of the annual sediment yield (SY) was collected during December in CC and CT plots, respectively. Soil loss in CC plots (x¯ = 9.2 Mg ha–1 yr–1) was significantly lower (−55.6 %) than that in CT plots. Despite that the average eroded Corg was higher in the CT (x¯ = 222 kg C ha–1 yr–1) compared to CC (x¯ = 148 kg C ha–1 yr–1) plots differences were not significant due to the higher Corg concentration in the sediment from CC plots. The highest proportion of eroded Corg (44%–45%) corresponded to the physically protected fraction. The highest ERSOC (1.99 and 2.04 for CC and CT, respectively) was recorded in DS whereas the lowest was in the RS (0.90) and HRS (0.96) seasons. The mean ERSOC were of 1.00 and 0.92 in the CC and CT plots, with no significant difference. The fact that most of the SY was recorded in one month, when CC plants were not fully developed, might explain the ERSOC at 1, and why their presence did not modify it. This study demonstrates that CC favours greater total, unprotected and protected Corg fractions in the topsoil, promoting soil C sequestration. The asynchrony between the periods of full development of the CC plants and those with the highest rainfall erosivity prevented any selectiveness of the eroded Corg. Thus, fast-growing CC plant species with short life-cycles are recommended, as well as adequate management to promote self-seeding avoiding soil disturbance for seeding in erosion prone seasons.
M. López-Vicente; J.A. Gómez; G. Guzmán; J. Calero; R. García-Ruiz. The role of cover crops in the loss of protected and non-protected soil organic carbon fractions due to water erosion in a Mediterranean olive grove. Soil and Tillage Research 2021, 213, 105119 .
AMA StyleM. López-Vicente, J.A. Gómez, G. Guzmán, J. Calero, R. García-Ruiz. The role of cover crops in the loss of protected and non-protected soil organic carbon fractions due to water erosion in a Mediterranean olive grove. Soil and Tillage Research. 2021; 213 ():105119.
Chicago/Turabian StyleM. López-Vicente; J.A. Gómez; G. Guzmán; J. Calero; R. García-Ruiz. 2021. "The role of cover crops in the loss of protected and non-protected soil organic carbon fractions due to water erosion in a Mediterranean olive grove." Soil and Tillage Research 213, no. : 105119.
Among the agricultural practices promoted by the Common Agricultural Policy to increase soil functions, the use of cover crops is a recommended tool to improve the sustainability of Mediter-ranean woody crops such as olive orchards. However, there is a broad range of cover crop ty-pologies in relation to its implementation, control and species composition. In that sense, the in-fluence of different plant species on soil quality indicators in olive orchards remains unknown yet. This study describes the effects of four treatments based on the implementation of different ground covers (CC-NAT, CC-GRA and CC-MIX) and conventional tillage (TILL) on soil erosion, soil physicochemical and biological properties, and soil microbial communities after 8 years of cover crop establishment. Our results have demonstrated that the presence of a temporary cover crop (CC), compared to a soil under tillage (TILL), can reduce soil losses and maintain good soil physicochemical properties and modify greatly the structure and diversity of soil bacterial com-munities and its functioning. The presence of a homogeneous CC of gramineous (Lolium rigidum or Lolilum multiflorum) (CC-GR) for 8 years significantly increased the functional properties of the soil as compared to TILL; although the most significant change was a modification on the bacte-rial community composition that was clearly different from the rest of treatments. On the other hand, the use of a mixture of plant species (CC-MIX) as a CC for only two years although did not modify greatly the structure and diversity of soil bacterial communities compared to the TILL soil, induced significant changes on the functional properties of the soil, and reverted those properties to a level similar to that of an undisturbed soil that had maintained a natural cover of spontaneous vegetation for decades (CC-NAT).
Luis F. Arias-Giraldo; Gema Guzmán Díaz; Miguel Montes-Borrego; David Gramaje; José A. Gómez; Blanca B. Landa. Going beyond Soil Conservation with the Use of Cover Crops in Mediterranean Sloping Olive Orchards. 2021, 1 .
AMA StyleLuis F. Arias-Giraldo, Gema Guzmán Díaz, Miguel Montes-Borrego, David Gramaje, José A. Gómez, Blanca B. Landa. Going beyond Soil Conservation with the Use of Cover Crops in Mediterranean Sloping Olive Orchards. . 2021; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLuis F. Arias-Giraldo; Gema Guzmán Díaz; Miguel Montes-Borrego; David Gramaje; José A. Gómez; Blanca B. Landa. 2021. "Going beyond Soil Conservation with the Use of Cover Crops in Mediterranean Sloping Olive Orchards." , no. : 1.
Bananas and plantains (Musa spp.) are among the main staple of millions of people in the world. Among the main Musaceae diseases that may limit its productivity, Fusarium wilt (FW), caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc), has been threatening the banana industry for many years, with devastating effects on the economy of many tropical countries, becoming the leading cause of changes in the land use on severely affected areas. In this article, an updated, reflective and practical review of the current state of knowledge concerning the main agro-environmental factors that may affect disease progression and dissemination of this dangerous pathogen has been carried out, focusing on the Venezuelan Musaceae production systems. Environmental variables together with soil management and sustainable cultural practices are important factors affecting FW incidence and severity, excluding that the widespread dissemination of Foc, especially of its highly virulent tropical race 4 (TR4), is mainly caused by human activities. Additionally, risk analysis and climatic suitability maps for Foc TR4 in Venezuela have been developed. Although currently there are no effective management solutions available for FW control, this perspective provides an overview on the influence that environmental and agricultural variables would have on FW incidence and severity, giving some insight into management factors that can contribute to reducing its detrimental effects on banana production and how climate change may affect its development.
Barlin Olivares; Juan Rey; Deyanira Lobo; Juan Navas-Cortés; José Gómez; Blanca Landa. Fusarium Wilt of Bananas: A Review of Agro-Environmental Factors in the Venezuelan Production System Affecting Its Development. Agronomy 2021, 11, 986 .
AMA StyleBarlin Olivares, Juan Rey, Deyanira Lobo, Juan Navas-Cortés, José Gómez, Blanca Landa. Fusarium Wilt of Bananas: A Review of Agro-Environmental Factors in the Venezuelan Production System Affecting Its Development. Agronomy. 2021; 11 (5):986.
Chicago/Turabian StyleBarlin Olivares; Juan Rey; Deyanira Lobo; Juan Navas-Cortés; José Gómez; Blanca Landa. 2021. "Fusarium Wilt of Bananas: A Review of Agro-Environmental Factors in the Venezuelan Production System Affecting Its Development." Agronomy 11, no. 5: 986.
Agricultural activity can have a significant effect on the environment. Often, the lack of experimental data leaves simulation models as the only alternative for understanding and assessing such effects and they can be useful for exploring the response of agricultural systems to different scenarios, in order, for example, to minimize soil erosion or the pollution of watercourses by agrochemicals.
In this work we present a simulation exercise of the runoff and erosion in two typical olive groves of the Cordoba countryside with contrasting characteristics during the 2009-19 period. The model used is AnnAGNPS, widely tested and very well suited for use in agricultural environments. The specific objectives are: to analyze the applicability of the model confronting its results with data from other nearby areas; to determine the controlling factors of runoff and erosion, such as seasonality; to quantify the importance of the main types of erosion; to explore the response to two different management scenarios.
The study areas were two, Matasanos (189.4 ha of intensive olive groves on vertisols) and Morente (4.2 ha of traditional olive groves on degraded and poor vertisols). The first scenario (TC) consists of maintaining the soil bare by means of continuous conventional tillage. The second (CC) considers a temporary vegetation cover (around 70 %) on the lanes. All the possible types of erosion in those areas are considered: sheet and rill, ephemeral gullies (EG) and permanent gullies (PG). For the purposes of the simulations, the EGs are tilled while the PGs are not. The latter show more constant characteristics over time (although they also evolve), and are larger in size (i.e., they were assigned a greater depth).
The results show a significant decrease in average annual runoff in CC with respect to TC (38% in Matasanos and 55% in Morente), which is concentrated in the late autumn and winter months. Thus, according to our simulations, still preliminary, the implementation of covers would have achieved one of its objectives, which is to reduce the runoff generated in the watersheds.
The sediment yields in both watershed outlets also suffered a significant decrease in CC with respect to TC, going from 4.75 to 1.66 Mg/ha/year and from 16.2 to 6.9 Mg/ha/year in Matasanos and Morente respectively. The simulated erosion rates are consistent with observations made in the area and with other previous simulation exercises. Both sediment export and runoff show a marked seasonality, although erosion occurs somewhat more distributed throughout the year. The different types of erosion take on different importance in each watershed. For example, permanent gullies play a very important role in Morente (46% in TC and 44% in CC), despite they are active at very specific times, probably with extreme events, which is reasonable according to the observations made in the area. The results show that the model is apparently useful with respect to the proposed objectives, allowing the effect of different uses and management on the environment to be contrasted in the medium and long term.
Iker Hernández-García; Eduardo Luquin; Rakel Gastesi; José Alfonso Gómez-Calero; José Javier López-Rodríguez; Javier Casalí; Antonio Hayas; Antonio López-Uceda; Adolfo Peña. Finding strategies to reduce soil erosion using modelling tools: a case study in olive orchards of Cordoba (Spain) including sheet and rill erosion, ephemeral and permanent gullies. 2021, 1 .
AMA StyleIker Hernández-García, Eduardo Luquin, Rakel Gastesi, José Alfonso Gómez-Calero, José Javier López-Rodríguez, Javier Casalí, Antonio Hayas, Antonio López-Uceda, Adolfo Peña. Finding strategies to reduce soil erosion using modelling tools: a case study in olive orchards of Cordoba (Spain) including sheet and rill erosion, ephemeral and permanent gullies. . 2021; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleIker Hernández-García; Eduardo Luquin; Rakel Gastesi; José Alfonso Gómez-Calero; José Javier López-Rodríguez; Javier Casalí; Antonio Hayas; Antonio López-Uceda; Adolfo Peña. 2021. "Finding strategies to reduce soil erosion using modelling tools: a case study in olive orchards of Cordoba (Spain) including sheet and rill erosion, ephemeral and permanent gullies." , no. : 1.
Maintenance of ground cover vegetation in olive orchards has been shown to reduce soil and runoff losses as compared to bare soil. However, extrapolation of its impact at hillslope scale under different conditions still challenging for several reasons. One is the limited duration of available experiments, usually shorter than 3 years, which can´t capture the annual variability in precipitation typical of Mediterranean type of climate. A second reason is the small scale in which many experiments are carried out, which do not capture all the relevant erosion processes at hillslope scale. A third reason, hardly discussed, is the use of the runoff plots that limits traffic resulting in conditions that might not be fully representative of actual orchards.
For evaluating the effect of temporary cover crops on water erosion processes in olives at hillslope scale, runoff and soil losses have been monitored from 2008 to 2019 in La Conchuela. This is an olive farm located in Southern Spain, where average annual precipitation is 655 mm, on Typic Haploxerert (clay content > 50%). Six runoff plots (14x24 m) delimited by steel beams on concrete foundation were established in a 13.4 % slope, containing 3 rows of 4 trees. This allows normal farm operations. Since 2008-2009, two soil management systems, conventional tillage (CT) and temporary cover crops (CC), were tested. In the two CT plots ground vegetation was controlled by 2-3chisel ploughing passes during the year. CC in the other four plots consisted of sowing manually in mid Fall a grass or a mix with grasses every 1 to 3 years without disturbing the soil surface, been mowed in early Spring. The aim of this cover crop was to be grown up spontaneously from seed produced the previous year. Weeds along the tree rows are controlled by herbicides in both cases.
No significant differences were detected (p < 0.05) for the whole period, although CC showed lower runoff and soil losses values. Runoff data ranged from 157.7 ± 61.2 to 144.5 ± 46.4 mm, and soil losses varied from 24.3 ± 9.1 to 16.4 ± 7.0 t·ha-1 at the CT and CC treatments respectively. The lack of statistical differences can be explained by the large variability recorded in the measurements at the six plots, especially at the CC due to the specific weather and traffic conditions. Our experiment shows how in a crop, olives, subject to intense traffic during the harvesting season (happening in late fall or early winter, rainy season) and in an orchard on heavy soils, maintenance of a good cover crop is challenging in many years. Our results call for caution when extrapolating the benefits of cover crops in olives from the experimental plots to real world conditions. It also highlights the need for improved soil management under these conditions (e.g. controlled traffic, combination with inert mulch, …) to improve soil and water conservation in intensively cultivated olive orchards in heavy soils.
Jose Alfonso Gomez; Gema Guzman. Long-term evaluation of cover crops on soil and runoff losses under trafficked conditions in olive orchards. 2021, 1 .
AMA StyleJose Alfonso Gomez, Gema Guzman. Long-term evaluation of cover crops on soil and runoff losses under trafficked conditions in olive orchards. . 2021; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJose Alfonso Gomez; Gema Guzman. 2021. "Long-term evaluation of cover crops on soil and runoff losses under trafficked conditions in olive orchards." , no. : 1.
This manuscript presents a questionnaire-based study aimed to provide a detailed analysis on the different soil management carried out by olive farmers in two representative olive-growing areas in southern Spain (Cordoba and Estepa), their perceptions on cover crop use and the possible influence of the different types of farms and farmers’ typologies on these perceptions. Our results show a relatively large variability of soil management, with fourteen options, as a result of a combination of different alternatives for bare soil and cover crops with the use or not of pruning residues, but with a great similarity between both areas. The results indicate a high adoption of soil conservation measures in the two study areas, with 63% of farmers using cover crops and 80% a mulch of pruning residues, higher than that reported in previous studies in Southern Spain, and a trend of lower use of these techniques by less experienced and younger farmers. This high penetration of soil conservation measures resulted in a significant reduction of soil erosion risk, as indicated by the relatively low values for the cover and management factor (C) of RUSLE, also calculated and presented in this study, but also the possibility of focusing further efforts on farmers with less experience. Our results indicate the persistence of a minor, but relevant, percentage of farmers using bare soil management (37%) and no mulching (20%), with a moderate concern on the impact of soil erosion on soil degradation and provision of ecosystem services. This suggests the need to concentrate efforts also on this cluster of farmers to enhance the success of what seems to be a remarkable expansion of the use of soil conservation measures in recent decades in Southern Spain, but also in similar areas in the Mediterranean basin.
José A. Gómez; Ana Sánchez Montero; Gema Guzmán; María-Auxiliadora Soriano. In-depth analysis of soil management and farmers’ perceptions of related risks in two olive grove areas in southern Spain. International Soil and Water Conservation Research 2021, 9, 461 -473.
AMA StyleJosé A. Gómez, Ana Sánchez Montero, Gema Guzmán, María-Auxiliadora Soriano. In-depth analysis of soil management and farmers’ perceptions of related risks in two olive grove areas in southern Spain. International Soil and Water Conservation Research. 2021; 9 (3):461-473.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJosé A. Gómez; Ana Sánchez Montero; Gema Guzmán; María-Auxiliadora Soriano. 2021. "In-depth analysis of soil management and farmers’ perceptions of related risks in two olive grove areas in southern Spain." International Soil and Water Conservation Research 9, no. 3: 461-473.
This manuscript describes the development, calibration and validation of an autonomous overland flow detector (OFD) for the measurement and recording of shallow runoff depth at varying recording intervals based on measurement of runoff water electrical conductivity (EC). Using electronic components easily available and of moderate cost, approximately 367€ per unit, the proposed device can operate for a broad range of surface overland flow with EC from 0 to 435 µS cm−1 with a regular charge using a small built-in cell panel. It was originally intended for use in experiments related to runoff connectivity and efficiency of vegetated buffer strips at hillslope scale. Results show how, once calibrated for the expected range of runoff EC, the proposed device can provide reliable and replicable measurements among different units with an average root mean square error of 3 mm. When deployed in the validation test under rainfall simulation with water of high EC (435 µS cm−1) it allowed the determination of the evolution of the change in runoff starting time and the duration of the hydrograph after the end of rainfall in individual points as a function of slope length. In this test the differences in depth among OFD was not significant, since being lower than 4 mm overlaps with the average measurement error among units. This result highlights the need for careful interpretation of the measured depth in relation to the equipment measurement error in spatial variability of shallow flow. Further improvements will concentrate on remote communication for downloading data via a cell phone network, and additional ruggedness and autonomy for long-term deployment in the field under very cloudy conditions.
Enrique Chamber; R. Pérez; J.A. Gómez. Autonomous shallow flow runoff detector for hillslope hydrological studies. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 2020, 179, 105805 .
AMA StyleEnrique Chamber, R. Pérez, J.A. Gómez. Autonomous shallow flow runoff detector for hillslope hydrological studies. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. 2020; 179 ():105805.
Chicago/Turabian StyleEnrique Chamber; R. Pérez; J.A. Gómez. 2020. "Autonomous shallow flow runoff detector for hillslope hydrological studies." Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 179, no. : 105805.
Cover crops can be an effective means to protect soil and reduce risks of erosion in olive groves. However, for this protection to be significant, the vegetation must attain a significant amount of ground cover, which is estimated to be at least 30% during the rainy season. In olive groves on degraded soils, which occupy large surface areas in the olive-growing areas of the Mediterranean region, the establishment of cover crops may be an arduous challenge, particularly in areas with a high density of rabbits. In this study, we have selected two olive orchards with scarce natural vegetation located in Andalusia (southern Spain), in which rabbit populations intensively forage the cover crops, to test whether the self-seeding of an unpalatable species corn chamomile (Anthemis arvensis L.; A. arvensis for short) could achieve sufficient coverage for soil protection, in the year following that in which the broadcast-seeding was carried out for the implementation of cover crops. The hand broadcast-seeding of A. arvensis was carried out on sixteen elementary plots in the lanes of the two olive orchards in the autumn of 2015, and seed germination in the subsequent self-seeding took place in the autumn of 2016. The plant height and A. arvensis ground cover in these plots were measured throughout the two growth cycles, and aerial biomass was measured at maturity. The results showed that there were no significant differences in the maximum plant height between the two growth cycles (mean ± SD of 21.2 ± 1.6 cm), while the ground cover was significantly greater in the case of self-seeding, especially during the winter (37.2 ± 8.1 and 9.3 ± 6.7% for self-seeding and broadcast-seeding, respectively), and aerial biomass at maturity had more than doubled (99.7 and 43.9 g m−2, respectively). These data suggest that this unpalatable species could establish an effective herbaceous cover by means of self-seeding in olive groves on degraded soils that are being overgrazed owing to the high pressure of rabbits. Despite the poor establishment in the broadcast-seeding year, our findings indicate that A. arvensis might be an alternative cover crop that could help the sustainability of these threatened olive groves. Its high seed production (2000 to 4000 seeds per plant), and an early emergence just after the first autumn rains, should result in an increased ground cover by A. arvensis during the rainy season in the subsequent years of self-seeding. This, therefore, could contribute to soil conservation, in addition to providing other benefits of increased biodiversity and improvement for agricultural landscapes.
Antonio J. Carpio; María-Auxiliadora Soriano; José A. Gómez; Francisco S. Tortosa. The Self-Seeding of Anthemis arvensis L. for Cover Crop in Olive Groves under Intense Rabbit Grazing. Agronomy 2020, 10, 1412 .
AMA StyleAntonio J. Carpio, María-Auxiliadora Soriano, José A. Gómez, Francisco S. Tortosa. The Self-Seeding of Anthemis arvensis L. for Cover Crop in Olive Groves under Intense Rabbit Grazing. Agronomy. 2020; 10 (9):1412.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAntonio J. Carpio; María-Auxiliadora Soriano; José A. Gómez; Francisco S. Tortosa. 2020. "The Self-Seeding of Anthemis arvensis L. for Cover Crop in Olive Groves under Intense Rabbit Grazing." Agronomy 10, no. 9: 1412.
Rainfall is the key factor to understand soil erosion processes, mechanisms, and rates. Most research was conducted to determine rainfall characteristics and their relationship with soil erosion (erosivity) but there is little information about how atmospheric patterns control soil losses, and this is important to enable sustainable environmental planning and risk prevention. We investigated the temporal and spatial variability of the relationships of rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield with atmospheric patterns (weather types, WTs) in the western Mediterranean basin. For this purpose, we analyzed a large database of rainfall events collected between 1985 and 2015 in 46 experimental plots and catchments with the aim to: (i) evaluate seasonal differences in the contribution of rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield produced by the WTs; and (ii) to analyze the seasonal efficiency of the different WTs (relation frequency and magnitude) related to rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield. The results indicate two different temporal patterns: the first weather type exhibits (during the cold period: autumn and winter) westerly flows that produce the highest rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield values throughout the territory; the second weather type exhibits easterly flows that predominate during the warm period (spring and summer) and it is located on the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula. However, the cyclonic situations present high frequency throughout the whole year with a large influence extended around the western Mediterranean basin. Contrary, the anticyclonic situations, despite of its high frequency, do not contribute significantly to the total rainfall, runoff, and sediment (showing the lowest efficiency) because of atmospheric stability that currently characterize this atmospheric pattern. Our approach helps to better understand the relationship of WTs on the seasonal and spatial variability of rainfall, runoff and sediment yield with a regional scale based on the large dataset and number of soil erosion experimental stations.
D. Peña-Angulo; E. Nadal-Romero; J.C. González-Hidalgo; J. Albaladejo; V. Andreu; H. Bahri; S. Bernal; M. Biddoccu; R. Bienes; J. Campo; Miguel Ángel Campo-Bescós; A. Canatário-Duarte; Y. Cantón; J. Casali; V. Castillo; E. Cavallo; A. Cerdà; P. Cid; N. Cortesi; G. Desir; Elvira Diaz Pereira; T. Espigares; J. Estrany; J. Farguell; M. Fernández-Raga; C.S. Ferreira; V. Ferro; F. Gallart; R. Giménez; E. Gimeno; J.A. Gómez; A. Gómez-Gutiérrez; H. Gómez-Macpherson; O. González-Pelayo; O. Kairis; G.P. Karatzas; S. Keesstra; S. Klotz; C. Kosmas; N. Lana-Renault; T. Lasanta; J. Latron; R. Lázaro; Y. Le Bissonnais; C. Le Bouteiller; F. Licciardello; J.A. López-Tarazón; A. Lucía; V.M. Marín-Moreno; C. Marín; M.J. Marqués; J. Martínez-Fernández; M. Martínez-Mena; L. Mateos; N. Mathys; L. Merino-Martín; M. Moreno-De Las Heras; N. Moustakas; J.M. Nicolau; V. Pampalone; D. Raclot; M.L. Rodríguez-Blanco; J. Rodrigo-Comino; A. Romero-Díaz; Encarnación Taguas Ruiz; J.L. Rubio; S. Schnabel; J.M. Senciales-González; A. Solé-Benet; E.V. Taguas; M.T. Taboada-Castro; F. Todisco; X. Úbeda; E.A. Varouchakis; L. Wittenberg; A. Zabaleta; M. Zorn. Relationship of Weather Types on the Seasonal and Spatial Variability of Rainfall, Runoff, and Sediment Yield in the Western Mediterranean Basin. Atmosphere 2020, 11, 609 .
AMA StyleD. Peña-Angulo, E. Nadal-Romero, J.C. González-Hidalgo, J. Albaladejo, V. Andreu, H. Bahri, S. Bernal, M. Biddoccu, R. Bienes, J. Campo, Miguel Ángel Campo-Bescós, A. Canatário-Duarte, Y. Cantón, J. Casali, V. Castillo, E. Cavallo, A. Cerdà, P. Cid, N. Cortesi, G. Desir, Elvira Diaz Pereira, T. Espigares, J. Estrany, J. Farguell, M. Fernández-Raga, C.S. Ferreira, V. Ferro, F. Gallart, R. Giménez, E. Gimeno, J.A. Gómez, A. Gómez-Gutiérrez, H. Gómez-Macpherson, O. González-Pelayo, O. Kairis, G.P. Karatzas, S. Keesstra, S. Klotz, C. Kosmas, N. Lana-Renault, T. Lasanta, J. Latron, R. Lázaro, Y. Le Bissonnais, C. Le Bouteiller, F. Licciardello, J.A. López-Tarazón, A. Lucía, V.M. Marín-Moreno, C. Marín, M.J. Marqués, J. Martínez-Fernández, M. Martínez-Mena, L. Mateos, N. Mathys, L. Merino-Martín, M. Moreno-De Las Heras, N. Moustakas, J.M. Nicolau, V. Pampalone, D. Raclot, M.L. Rodríguez-Blanco, J. Rodrigo-Comino, A. Romero-Díaz, Encarnación Taguas Ruiz, J.L. Rubio, S. Schnabel, J.M. Senciales-González, A. Solé-Benet, E.V. Taguas, M.T. Taboada-Castro, F. Todisco, X. Úbeda, E.A. Varouchakis, L. Wittenberg, A. Zabaleta, M. Zorn. Relationship of Weather Types on the Seasonal and Spatial Variability of Rainfall, Runoff, and Sediment Yield in the Western Mediterranean Basin. Atmosphere. 2020; 11 (6):609.
Chicago/Turabian StyleD. Peña-Angulo; E. Nadal-Romero; J.C. González-Hidalgo; J. Albaladejo; V. Andreu; H. Bahri; S. Bernal; M. Biddoccu; R. Bienes; J. Campo; Miguel Ángel Campo-Bescós; A. Canatário-Duarte; Y. Cantón; J. Casali; V. Castillo; E. Cavallo; A. Cerdà; P. Cid; N. Cortesi; G. Desir; Elvira Diaz Pereira; T. Espigares; J. Estrany; J. Farguell; M. Fernández-Raga; C.S. Ferreira; V. Ferro; F. Gallart; R. Giménez; E. Gimeno; J.A. Gómez; A. Gómez-Gutiérrez; H. Gómez-Macpherson; O. González-Pelayo; O. Kairis; G.P. Karatzas; S. Keesstra; S. Klotz; C. Kosmas; N. Lana-Renault; T. Lasanta; J. Latron; R. Lázaro; Y. Le Bissonnais; C. Le Bouteiller; F. Licciardello; J.A. López-Tarazón; A. Lucía; V.M. Marín-Moreno; C. Marín; M.J. Marqués; J. Martínez-Fernández; M. Martínez-Mena; L. Mateos; N. Mathys; L. Merino-Martín; M. Moreno-De Las Heras; N. Moustakas; J.M. Nicolau; V. Pampalone; D. Raclot; M.L. Rodríguez-Blanco; J. Rodrigo-Comino; A. Romero-Díaz; Encarnación Taguas Ruiz; J.L. Rubio; S. Schnabel; J.M. Senciales-González; A. Solé-Benet; E.V. Taguas; M.T. Taboada-Castro; F. Todisco; X. Úbeda; E.A. Varouchakis; L. Wittenberg; A. Zabaleta; M. Zorn. 2020. "Relationship of Weather Types on the Seasonal and Spatial Variability of Rainfall, Runoff, and Sediment Yield in the Western Mediterranean Basin." Atmosphere 11, no. 6: 609.
This study compares the distribution of bulk soil organic carbon (SOC), its fractions (unprotected and physically, chemically, and biochemically protected), available phosphorus (Pavail), organic nitrogen (Norg), and stable isotope (δ15N and δ13C) signatures at four soil depths (0–10, 10–20, 20–30, and 30–40 cm) between a nearby open forest reference area and a historical olive orchard (established in 1856) located in southern Spain. In addition, these soil properties, as well as water stable aggregates (Wsagg), were contrasted at eroding and deposition areas within the olive orchard, previously determined using 137Cs. SOC stock in the olive orchard (about 40 t C ha−1) was only 25 % of that in the forested area (about 160 t C ha−1) in the upper 40 cm of soil, and the reduction was especially severe in the unprotected organic carbon. The reference and the orchard soils also showed significant differences in the δ13C and δ15N signals, likely due to the different vegetation composition and N dynamics in both areas. Soil properties along a catena, from erosion to deposition areas within the old olive orchard, showed large differences. Soil Corg, Pavail and Norg content, and δ15N at the deposition were significantly higher than those of the erosion area, defining two distinct areas with a different soil quality status. These overall results indicate that the proper understanding of Corg content and soil quality in olive orchards requires the consideration of the spatial variability induced by erosion–deposition processes for a convenient appraisal at the farm scale.
José A. Gómez; Gema Guzmán; Arsenio Toloza; Christian Resch; Roberto García-Ruíz; Lionel Mabit. Variation of soil organic carbon, stable isotopes, and soil quality indicators across an erosion–deposition catena in a historical Spanish olive orchard. SOIL 2020, 6, 179 -194.
AMA StyleJosé A. Gómez, Gema Guzmán, Arsenio Toloza, Christian Resch, Roberto García-Ruíz, Lionel Mabit. Variation of soil organic carbon, stable isotopes, and soil quality indicators across an erosion–deposition catena in a historical Spanish olive orchard. SOIL. 2020; 6 (1):179-194.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJosé A. Gómez; Gema Guzmán; Arsenio Toloza; Christian Resch; Roberto García-Ruíz; Lionel Mabit. 2020. "Variation of soil organic carbon, stable isotopes, and soil quality indicators across an erosion–deposition catena in a historical Spanish olive orchard." SOIL 6, no. 1: 179-194.
So far, it does not exist a set of tracers which fulfill all the characteristics for being an ideal sediment tracer such as, environmentally friendly, inexpensive or easily analysed (Zhang et al., 2001). For this reason, and in order to address some of the unsolved issues of water erosion processes, more research enquiring into the development of these soil and sediment tracers is needed.
Iron oxide-based tracers has been already tested in several water erosion trials with satisfactory results (e.g. Guzmán et al., 2010, 2013, 2015). In 2015, three cascade plots with a different iron oxide (magnetite, hematite and goethite) each were set up in order to evaluate soil redistribution after the rainy season (Obereder et al., 2016). While these authors presented the total iron content of sediments after clorhydric acid extraction, the present study will show only the free iron content of soil and sediments using a different extraction method (CBC, citrate-bicarbonate-ditionite), as this method is more adequate in high iron content soils, as is our case.
The results depict the suitability of the CBD method extracting the three tracers with an average recovery rate of 0.7. The analysis of the iron content of soil and sediment samples indicates a relatively low movement of soil although showing significant statistical differences with background and mixture values. These results are in line with the ones detected by the magnetic susceptibility measurements. Further textural and visible spectrum analysis of the samples will allow to determine the possible selectivity factor and to discriminate qualitative and quantitatively hematite and goethite tracers, respectively.
References:
Guzmán et al. 2010. Catena, 82(2), 126-133.
Guzmán et al. 2013. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 77(2), 350-361.
Guzmán et al. 2015. Journal of hydrology, 524, 227-242.
Obereder et al. 2016. Geophysical Research Abstracts Vol. 18, EGU2016-2455-1. EGU General Assembly 2016.
Zhang et al. 2001. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 65(5), 1508-1515.
Gema Guzmán; Azahara Ramos; Vidal Barrón; José A. Gómez. Optimizing the potential of iron oxide-based tracers. 2020, 1 .
AMA StyleGema Guzmán, Azahara Ramos, Vidal Barrón, José A. Gómez. Optimizing the potential of iron oxide-based tracers. . 2020; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGema Guzmán; Azahara Ramos; Vidal Barrón; José A. Gómez. 2020. "Optimizing the potential of iron oxide-based tracers." , no. : 1.
Traditionally, soil quality has been assessed through physical, chemical and biological properties without paying attention to soil biota and the different associated ecosystem services provided (Tyler, 2019). To fill that gap, the european BiodivERsA “SoilMan” project (Ecosystem services driven by the diversity of soil biota – understanding and management in agriculture) is focused on the relations among soil management, soil biodiversity, and ecosystem services, at seven different management gradients in agricultural long term observations (LTO’s) trials across Europe (France “SOERE-PROs EFELE” and “SOERE-ACBB Lusigan”, Romania “Turda”, Sweden “Angermanland” and “Säby-Uppland”, Germany “Garte Süd” and Spain “La Hampa”). Management gradients covered different tillage regimes (zero, minimum and conventional) and different crop rotations (crop types and duration).
In the present study, we characterised the bacterial and fungal communities of soils from the different countries and agricultural managements in arable land. The samplings were carried out following the same methodology in all the countries during 2017-2018 when wheat was sown in the LTO’s. The soil DNA was extracted and subjected to metabarcoding analysis of 16S and Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) ribosomal RNA (rRNA) for bacterial and fungal community analysis, respectively.
Different alpha diversity metrics, including number of OTUs, Simpsons and Shannon indexes, as well as beta diversity distances (weighted and unweighted UNIFRAC, Jaccard and Bray-Curtis) were calculated. Multidimensional Scaling ordination plots (PCoA) were used to visualize the existence of community gradients among locations and soil managements. All the statistical data procedure was analysed using the vegan R package (Oksanen, 2011).
In general terms, results show that alpha diversity for both bacteria and fungi, clearly differs among countries while soil management effects are less defined among and within countries. Concerning the beta diversity indexes, communities tend to cluster more according to the spatial location than due to the soil management regimen. This is especially true for fungal communities. Further analysis will identify possible correlations of bacterial and fungal communities with environmental variables and other physicochemical and biological soil properties.
References:
Oksanen, J. (2011). Multivariate Analysis of Ecological Communities in R: vegan tutorial.
Tyler, H. L. (2019). Bacterial community composition under long-term reduced tillage and no till management. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 126(6), 1797–1807. https://doi.org/10.1111/jam.14267
Luis F. Arias; Gema Guzmán; José A. Gómez; Manuel Anguita-Maeso; Dumitria Dascalu; Deborah Linsler; Thierry Morvan; Maarja Öpik; Guénola Pérès; Martin Potthoff; Mignon Sandor; Astrid Taylor; Kaisa Torppa; Tanel Vahter; Blanca B. Landa. Effects of agricultural soil management practices on soil microbiota across Europe – investigations in seven long term field experiments. 2020, 1 .
AMA StyleLuis F. Arias, Gema Guzmán, José A. Gómez, Manuel Anguita-Maeso, Dumitria Dascalu, Deborah Linsler, Thierry Morvan, Maarja Öpik, Guénola Pérès, Martin Potthoff, Mignon Sandor, Astrid Taylor, Kaisa Torppa, Tanel Vahter, Blanca B. Landa. Effects of agricultural soil management practices on soil microbiota across Europe – investigations in seven long term field experiments. . 2020; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLuis F. Arias; Gema Guzmán; José A. Gómez; Manuel Anguita-Maeso; Dumitria Dascalu; Deborah Linsler; Thierry Morvan; Maarja Öpik; Guénola Pérès; Martin Potthoff; Mignon Sandor; Astrid Taylor; Kaisa Torppa; Tanel Vahter; Blanca B. Landa. 2020. "Effects of agricultural soil management practices on soil microbiota across Europe – investigations in seven long term field experiments." , no. : 1.
The characterization of spatial variations in soil properties and crop performance within precision agriculture, and particularly the delineation of management zones (MZ) and sampling schemes, are complex assignments currently far from being resolved. Considerable advances have been achieved regarding the analysis of spatial data, but less attention has been devoted to assess the temporal asymmetry associated with variable crop×year interactions. In this case-study of a 9 ha field located in Spain, we captured interactions between both spatial and temporal variations for two contrasting seasons of remotely sensed crop data (NDVI) combined with several geomorphological properties (i.e., elevation, slope orientation, soil apparent electrical conductivity - ECa, %Clay, %Sand, pH). We developed an algorithm combining Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and clustering k-means and succeeded to delineate four MZ’s with a satisfactory fragmentation degree, each one associated with a different Elevation×ECa×NDVI combination. Simulated yield maps were generated using NDVI maps correlated to ground cover to establish initial conditions in simulation settings with a crop model. Yield maps were spatially correlated but fitted into variograms with irregular spatial structure. Both CV and spatial patterns did not show consistency from year to year. The results indicate that MZ’s temporal instability is an important issue for site-specific management as agronomic implications varied greatly with crop×year setting. We observed differences, not only regarding NDVI patterns but also in yield response to the combination of Elevation×ECa (and Texture) depending on the seasonal rainfall. A reduction of 14% of the ’Goodness of Variance Fit’ was observed for simulated yield from the first to the second crop×year, highlighting the difficulties in the delineation of MZ’s with persistent confidence. The interpretation of MZ×Yield associations was not straight forward from the metrics selected here as it also depended on agronomic knowledge. We believe that precision agriculture will benefit greatly from improved protocols for MZ delineation and sampling schemes. However, the uncertainty associated with temporal asymmetry of yield clustering and MZ’s interpretation reveals that ‘automated digital agricultural systems’ are still far from reality.
Tomás R. Tenreiro; Margarita García-Vila; José A. Gómez; Elías Fereres. Uncertainties associated with the delineation of management zones in precision agriculture. 2020, 1 .
AMA StyleTomás R. Tenreiro, Margarita García-Vila, José A. Gómez, Elías Fereres. Uncertainties associated with the delineation of management zones in precision agriculture. . 2020; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTomás R. Tenreiro; Margarita García-Vila; José A. Gómez; Elías Fereres. 2020. "Uncertainties associated with the delineation of management zones in precision agriculture." , no. : 1.
Gully erosion is a soil degradation process widely present across the world. Permanent gully erosion has usually soil erosion rates one order of magnitude higher than hillslope water erosion in conventional agriculture, e.g. 2.1 vs 0.6 mm year-1 (Castillo and Gómez, 2016). It remains a major process of soil degradation worldwide.
This work attempts to investigate recent trends of published research on gully erosion in relation to gully erosion control since 2000. A review in Web of Science (core collection, 2000-19 by title) reported 401 documents, produced mainly in the European Union (52.1%), China (22.7%), USA (16.0%) and Australia (8.7%). Approximately 17% of all these articles covered restoration or control of gully erosion as their main topic. When screened most of these 68 articles deal with specific situations and techniques with a limited number devoted to a comparative review of effectiveness of different techniques, one of the few exceptions was Liu et al. (2019a). To provide perspective, there were a similar proportion of articles devoted to the study of gully erosion processes, a and a much larger number of articles devoted to the description of gully development and erosion rates in specific situations. It is apparent that the subject of gully erosion control is not a dominant one in the scientific indexed literature. This review was complemented with an analysis in WOCAT (WOCAT, 2019), a comprehensive international databases of soil conservation technologies. It showed with 27 entries of gully erosion restoration techniques over a total of 1098 descriptions (2.5% approximately). This might be explained, partially, because most of the information on gully erosion control appears in documents outside scientific, or technical, international databases, many times in local languages. Overall, two of the major barriers frequently noted by stakeholders, particularly farmers, for effective gully erosion control, their high costs and the complexity of controlling expansion of very large gullies (e.g. Liu et al.2019b) are not major major subjects in the international scientific literature on gullies in the last decades.
It is apparent that there is the need for a more comprehensive comparative analysis of the effectiveness and cost of different strategies of gully erosion control techniques, particularly oriented to reduce the investment cost of their implementation, especially in very large gullies where compex slope instability processes might play a dominant role. This communication presents a comprehensive analysis on the available information on international scientific literature on gully erosion research to suggest key lines and strategies for future research.
References
Castillo, C., Gómez, J.A. 2016 A century of gully erosion research: Urgency, complexity and study approaches Earth-Science Reviews 160: 300–319
Liu, X., et al. 2019a. Gully Erosion Control Practices in Northeast China: A Review. Sustainability 11: 5065, doi:10.3390/su11185065
Liu, H., et al. 2019b. Using 3D scanner to study gully evolution and its hydrological analysis in the deep weathering of southern China. Catena 183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2019.104218
WOCAT. 2020. World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies. https://www.wocat.net/en/
Jose Alfonso Gomez; Guangju Zhao; Honghu Liu; Yu Yang; Javier Lopez; Yun Xie. Research challenges on gully erosion control in EU and China. 2020, 1 .
AMA StyleJose Alfonso Gomez, Guangju Zhao, Honghu Liu, Yu Yang, Javier Lopez, Yun Xie. Research challenges on gully erosion control in EU and China. . 2020; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJose Alfonso Gomez; Guangju Zhao; Honghu Liu; Yu Yang; Javier Lopez; Yun Xie. 2020. "Research challenges on gully erosion control in EU and China." , no. : 1.
This study evaluated the effect on SOC concentration, stock and fractions in a dehesa divided into two areas of similar soil type but different soil management. The first area was a pastured dehesa (P) with young Holm oaks, planted in 1995 (70 trees ha−1, 12 m × 12 m) and, since 2000, grazed by sheep (3 sheep ha−1) with an average period of grazing of six months a year. Prior to this it was managed in the same way as the second adjacent area. The second area was a cropped dehesa (C) with widely spaced mature Holm oak (14 trees in a 12-ha dehesa), on which a mixture of vetch and oats was cultivated every three years and tilled with a chisel plough. After 22 years both dehesas showed similar SOC stock distribution amongst areas with different soil management, with approximately 40 t ha−1 in the top 100 cm of the soil. The P dehesa only showed higher SOC stock than the C dehesa on the surface 0–2 cm (5.86 ± 0.56 t ha-1vs 3.24 ± 0.37 t ha−1). The influence of the trees, increasing SOC concentration and content when compared to the area outside the canopy projection, was only detected under the mature trees in the C dehesa. In the area outside the tree canopy, both systems showed a similar distribution of soil organic carbon among their different fractions, with the unprotected fraction being the dominant one, followed by the physically and chemically protected fractions. In the C dehesa, the mature trees’ presence significantly modified the distribution of soil organic carbon in their surroundings, increasing the relevance of the unprotected fraction. The distribution of soil organic carbon in the unprotected and physically and chemically protected fractions were strongly correlated to the overall organic carbon concentration in the soil, indicating the rapid response of these three fractions to management, with the biochemically protected fraction showing no correlation, suggesting a high resilience to the changes in carbon budget.
Lizardo Reyna-Bowen; Pilar Fernandez-Rebollo; Jesús Fernández-Habas; José A. Gómez. The influence of tree and soil management on soil organic carbon stock and pools in dehesa systems. CATENA 2020, 190, 104511 .
AMA StyleLizardo Reyna-Bowen, Pilar Fernandez-Rebollo, Jesús Fernández-Habas, José A. Gómez. The influence of tree and soil management on soil organic carbon stock and pools in dehesa systems. CATENA. 2020; 190 ():104511.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLizardo Reyna-Bowen; Pilar Fernandez-Rebollo; Jesús Fernández-Habas; José A. Gómez. 2020. "The influence of tree and soil management on soil organic carbon stock and pools in dehesa systems." CATENA 190, no. : 104511.
This article outlines the major scientific objectives of the SHui project that seeks to optimize soil and water use in agricultural systems in the EU and China, by considering major current scientific challenges in this area. SHui (for Soil Hydrology research platform underpinning innovation to manage water scarcity in European and Chinese cropping systems) is large cooperative project that aims to provide significant advances through transdisciplinary research at multiple scales (plot, field, catchment and region). This paper explains our research platform of long-term experiments established at plot scale, approaches taken to integrate crop and hydrological models at field scale; coupled crop models and satellite-based observations at regional scales; decision support systems for specific farming situations; and the integration of these technologies to provide policy recommendations through socio-economic analysis of the impact of soil and water saving technologies. It also outlines the training of stakeholders to develop a basic common curriculum despite the subject being distributed across different disciplines and professions. As such, this article provides a review of major challenges for improving soil and water use in EU and China as well as information about the potential to access information made available by SHui, and to allow others to engage with the project.
José A. Gómez; Alon Ben-Gal; Juan J. Alarcón; Gabrielle De Lannoy; Shannon de Roos; Tomáš Dostál; Elias Fereres; Diego S. Intrigliolo; Josef Krása; Andreas Klik; Gunther Liebhard; Reinhard Nolz; Aviva Peeters; Elke Plaas; John Quinton; Rui Miao; Peter Strauss; Weifeng Xu; Zhiqiang Zhang; Funing Zhong; David Zumr; Ian Charles Dodd. SHui, an EU-Chinese cooperative project to optimize soil and water management in agricultural areas in the XXI century. International Soil and Water Conservation Research 2020, 8, 1 -14.
AMA StyleJosé A. Gómez, Alon Ben-Gal, Juan J. Alarcón, Gabrielle De Lannoy, Shannon de Roos, Tomáš Dostál, Elias Fereres, Diego S. Intrigliolo, Josef Krása, Andreas Klik, Gunther Liebhard, Reinhard Nolz, Aviva Peeters, Elke Plaas, John Quinton, Rui Miao, Peter Strauss, Weifeng Xu, Zhiqiang Zhang, Funing Zhong, David Zumr, Ian Charles Dodd. SHui, an EU-Chinese cooperative project to optimize soil and water management in agricultural areas in the XXI century. International Soil and Water Conservation Research. 2020; 8 (1):1-14.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJosé A. Gómez; Alon Ben-Gal; Juan J. Alarcón; Gabrielle De Lannoy; Shannon de Roos; Tomáš Dostál; Elias Fereres; Diego S. Intrigliolo; Josef Krása; Andreas Klik; Gunther Liebhard; Reinhard Nolz; Aviva Peeters; Elke Plaas; John Quinton; Rui Miao; Peter Strauss; Weifeng Xu; Zhiqiang Zhang; Funing Zhong; David Zumr; Ian Charles Dodd. 2020. "SHui, an EU-Chinese cooperative project to optimize soil and water management in agricultural areas in the XXI century." International Soil and Water Conservation Research 8, no. 1: 1-14.
This study presents the analysis of the suitability of three native species of annual plants, Bromus rubens, Medicago truncatula and Anthemis arvensis, as cover crops in Andalusia, Southern Spain. We used experimental data from two agricultural years to calibrate and validate degree-day-based phenological models for these cover crop species. From these developed models, we determined the seed maturity dates for the three species for seven locations in Andalusia for two different date assumptions regarding conditions for seed germination: fixed on October 20 or with the first significant rainfall (25 mm on four consecutive days) in late summer or early autumn, using an 18 year dataset of daily temperature and precipitation. This analysis enabled us to determine the probability distribution of seed maturity dates for the three plant species at each location, and determine an empirical linear regression model to calculate the average seed maturity date for each species in the region. This empirical model enabled us to calculate a regional map of maturity dates for the three cover crop species based on long-term average daily temperatures across the region. The analysis showed how the management of a temporary cover crop needs to be regionalised and adapted to the specific edaphoclimatic conditions of each orchard. Thus, whereas in the western part of the Guadalquivir river valley the three species can produce viable seeds in early April, especially A. arvensis and M. truncatula, in the rest of the region management of these cover crops needs to be adapted to combine seed production for self-seeding with minimising the risk of competition for soil water with the trees. This can be done with systems allowing partial killing of the cover crop in late winter, leaving a tiny fraction of the cover alive to produce seed for the next year. Our analysis suggests that new cover crop species with shorter cycles are needed, particularly grasses. In this search another key trait should be ease of seed dispersal. Our thermal time phenological models and approach may be directly applicable to similar areas in the Mediterranean or re-calibrated for different conditions or plant species with relatively simple experiments.
José A. Gómez; María-Auxiliadora Soriano. Evaluation of the suitability of three autochthonous herbaceous species as cover crops under Mediterranean conditions through the calibration and validation of a temperature-based phenology model. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 2019, 291, 106788 .
AMA StyleJosé A. Gómez, María-Auxiliadora Soriano. Evaluation of the suitability of three autochthonous herbaceous species as cover crops under Mediterranean conditions through the calibration and validation of a temperature-based phenology model. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. 2019; 291 ():106788.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJosé A. Gómez; María-Auxiliadora Soriano. 2019. "Evaluation of the suitability of three autochthonous herbaceous species as cover crops under Mediterranean conditions through the calibration and validation of a temperature-based phenology model." Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 291, no. : 106788.
Jose Alfonso Gomez. Answer to comments on manuscript by R3. 2019, 1 .
AMA StyleJose Alfonso Gomez. Answer to comments on manuscript by R3. . 2019; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJose Alfonso Gomez. 2019. "Answer to comments on manuscript by R3." , no. : 1.
Jose Alfonso Gomez. Answer to comments on manuscript by R2. 2019, 1 .
AMA StyleJose Alfonso Gomez. Answer to comments on manuscript by R2. . 2019; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJose Alfonso Gomez. 2019. "Answer to comments on manuscript by R2." , no. : 1.